Why the Rockets matched Kyle Lowry’s offer sheet

The Rockets might have indulged in a moment of sticker shock. They should not, however, have been at all surprised with the offer sheet Kyle Lowry received, worth roughly $24 million over four years. But if they wish, they could spend a moment mildly taken aback with the deal.

Then they matched it.

Daryl Morey announced his decision in a tweet:

“Congratulations to Kyle Lowry on signing his new deal. We plan to match the agreement and we are excited he will be returning to the Rockets.”

Those that checked the blog in the half hour or so between when the previous version of this entry was posted and the announcement that they had matched the offer know that the argument was made here that the Rockets needed to make this move. The reasons were as numerous as they were clear.

They always said they would, starting March 9 when Lowry came back from his injury. GM Daryl Morey gave his reasons, and they were good reasons then, and they are good reasons now.

Failing to match would have been announcing that they were just posturing, and it would be remembered the next time a restricted free agent is shopping for a deal, with next time scheduled for roughly 10 minutes later when the phone in Luis Scola’s agent’s pocket starts ringing.

That, however, is not even close to the only reason to match.

The Rockets’ season went south when Lowry went out. When teams spoke of all that Rockets grit and toughness, they were describing Lowry. He was not the only one that showed it, but he helped give the Rockets the quality that defined them through the first months of the season.

When Lowry turned his ankle, the Rockets went from a double-digit lead against Philadelphia to a home loss, and including that game, were 5-10 in the games he missed with injuries. Going into a season with Yao Ming, Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, Chuck Hayes and Jared Jeffries in the final season of their deals, the Rockets would have been wrong to take a step backward, and they would have been making a significant step in the wrong direction to reduce their roster to one point guard.

When they made the deal for Kevin Martin, removing the cap room they would have had if they simply let Tracy McGrady walk, they said they did it to grab the sure-thing addition of Martin rather than the long-shot hopes of free agency, but also because they had budgeted the cost of keeping their free agents and had chosen to take on that expense.

Point guards get mid-level money. It must be in the fine print somewhere. The Rockets had to see it coming when owner Leslie Alexander approved the plan, and when Morey said Alexander had instructed him to match the offers his restricted free agents might receive.

Mid-level for a guy with 30 career starts, all because of injuries to the starter, might seem a bit much, but not compared to his importance to the Rockets or the going rate for point guards.

That the Rockets have not made a big free-agent move brings another reason to keep Lowry. It’s not about feeling better in a July of inactivity. Even if they are uncomfortable with having the backup earning twice the salary of the starter, keeping Lowry also keeps another asset for the sort of roster move they have not made this month.

The Rockets also were correct to make an exception to their policy of making moves at the deadline. They had a week to match the offer to Lowry, but with Scola also a restricted free agent testing the market, immediately matching the offer to Lowry would send a message that they said they would match and did. And if Lowry felt unloved as the Rockets failed to recruit him, or even send a Bosh-like iPad his way, a quick move would send a message to him, too.

The Rockets did not need to match the offer because it’s been such a dull and perhaps disappointing month. They have resisted the urge to overspend for big men, offering at least a hint at what they might be thinking about the offer sheet question at hand.

They have been careful, however, because they like their roster and like their chances. The roster is not complete, but it is solid and deep. But it did need Lowry back. Their first free-agent move was clear. They needed to match the offer.

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There’s still nothing new on the Brad Miller front. To quote his agent Mark Bartelstein this morning: “Nothing new.”

In a way, there might be. Denver was ready to join the fray, but the signing of Al Harrington likely takes them out of the mix, at least as a team with potential to make an offer he cannot refuse. Boston grabbed Jermaine O’Neal. Miami signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas. A return to Chicago is still possible, but nothing new means the Rockets are still in the hunt.